I read that they may be getting pushed back to Q4 of this year because of testing with the new broadwell chips

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Oh god I hope not. If that's true, then putting out the Broadwell MBA tomorrow makes sense. The latest rumors seem to say March-April for the 12-inch MBA, with a minor refresh to the MBA coming out tomorrow.

We'll have to see what tomorrow brings. I think the likely scenario is Apple holding an event in March for the Apple Watch/Retina MBA.

I read that they may be getting pushed back to Q4 of this year because of testing with the new broadwell chips

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That doesn't make any sense. Broadwell is just another iteration of Intel's Core architecture. It wouldn't require any more or less testing than any other generation of chips that came before it. Haswell, Ivy Bridge, Sandy Bridge, etc.

People seem to forget that Intel has been releasing new generations of chips for decades and Apple has been adopting them for ... well, a decade.

Weird and confusing article, it starts by stating the MBA will be updated with the Core M chip (a low-power and slow tablet-bound chip) and then goes on to talk about Panasonic models that will use 5300U chips (which aren't in the same class).

In any case, I hope the MBA doesn't get outfitted with the Core M, it would be a performance downgrade.

The wireless screen (keyboard, printer, scanner, etc) capability should be a big plus for Skylake and that could be the hold up. It may not be the technology but getting all other high tech makers of LCD screens on board. The legal acrobatics should be amazing in that Intel may ask for a fee to be able to interact with Skylake processors. I can see Sony making LCDs and selling them for x dollars but then giving small royalty to Intel in order to interface with a Skylake product.

I think the laptops on the market will all have tablet capabilities with Skylake and you could type on a small keyboard/CPU and have it interface with a whole market full of wireless monitors. The line between iPad mini and full functioning laptop is blurring.

Steve Jobs was right when he said the personal computer (Mac) was giving way to devices (iPod, iPhone). I could imagine a Skylake laptop be be as small as an iPhone 6 (both PC and Mac) and be entirely housed in a keyboard/keypad that unfolds OR just be small iPhone looking unit and have a capability to be connected to full sized keyboard and full sized monitor. This will redefine laptop and maybe be called something else altogether.

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Steve Jobs was right when he said the personal computer (Mac) was giving way to devices (iPod, iPhone). I could imagine a Skylake laptop be be as small as an iPhone 6 (both PC and Mac) and be entirely housed in a keyboard/keypad that unfolds OR just be small iPhone looking unit and have a capability to be connected to full sized keyboard and full sized monitor. This will redefine laptop and maybe be called something else altogether.

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We're already there with Intel's Compute Stick and other similar products. Little HDMI dongles that you just plug into a TV. Connect a keyboard and mouse wirelessly and you have an entire computer setup.

This has been going on for a couple years already. But I can't imagine traditional laptops are going anywhere. The convenience of having a monitor, keyboard, and pointing device integrated into one is too great. You can't unfold an HDMI dongle on your couch, or an airplane, etc. and get work done.

We're already there with Intel's Compute Stick and other similar products. Little HDMI dongles that you just plug into a TV. Connect a keyboard and mouse wirelessly and you have an entire computer setup.

This has been going on for a couple years already. But I can't imagine traditional laptops are going anywhere. The convenience of having a monitor, keyboard, and pointing device integrated into one is too great. You can't unfold an HDMI dongle on your couch, or an airplane, etc. and get work done.

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There's room for more than one type of device. I can totally see the day when we literally just carrying a phone in our pockets and "dock" it with different sized displays around the house.

We're already there with Intel's Compute Stick and other similar products. Little HDMI dongles that you just plug into a TV. Connect a keyboard and mouse wirelessly and you have an entire computer setup.

This has been going on for a couple years already. But I can't imagine traditional laptops are going anywhere. The convenience of having a monitor, keyboard, and pointing device integrated into one is too great. You can't unfold an HDMI dongle on your couch, or an airplane, etc. and get work done.

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Call me old-fashioned, but the day laptops disappear I'll cry. The Mac is my workhorse. I'm glad OS X is still an operating system for those of us who need to get work done. Look at the way Windows has gone. But I agree, laptops aren't going anywhere.

There's room for more than one type of device. I can totally see the day when we literally just carrying a phone in our pockets and "dock" it with different sized displays around the house.

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That smartphone will one day be akin to a Mac with full speed, graphics, and software. When you dock it will be wireless and not a hard cable like is the case right now.

I can envision smart glasses with monitor built in. Laptops are great and certainly lighter and smaller than an old beige tower running Windows 98, but one day any laptop will be considered too big if not able to put in pocket. A nice folding screen, display in glasses, or even in the air like sci-fi should be the future.

That being said I still like large towers (if used at home or work) where you can have option to add more hard drives, swap out processor, RAM, cards, and even motherboard.

I think there will always be your large form factor beige box desktops for some uses, large 8 ft. servers in server rooms, but everyday modern users will be with iPhones and tablets/iPads and current form factor laptops will be considered old school. At the very least, non-touch screen laptops will be passe one day.

The good thing (for technology), and the sad thing (for us buying the stuff), is that the field moves forward and you just can't buy a computer or smartphone that will give you acceptable usage for ten years. If a car company only offered a ten year car then none of us would not buy it. If washing machines, water heaters, breast implants, windows, and carpets (and most other goods) didn't go for ten years and were probably totally useless after five years, those companies would get sued out of existence.

What I would like is a nice Macbook/MBA with modular "guts" where you can use it with dual core i7 and 8 gigs of RAM for three years with modular motherboard and RAM, swap out guts in three years to whatever is cutting edge, and swap it out again three years after that so you only have to pay full price for laptop, body, and screen once a decade. It gets old buying a new laptop or desktop computer every three years. I don't even replace my Levi's or Nike SBs that often.

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What I would like is a nice Macbook/MBA with modular "guts" where you can use it with dual core i7 and 8 gigs of RAM for three years with modular motherboard and RAM, swap out guts in three years to whatever is cutting edge, and swap it out again three years after that so you only have to pay full price for laptop, body, and screen once a decade. It gets old buying a new laptop or desktop computer every three years. I don't even replace my Levi's or Nike SBs that often.

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Sounds good except that the only parts of a MacBook that aren't considered obsolete or worn out after a few years are the trackpad, keyboard, and aluminum chassis.

The CPU, chipset, memory, supporting electronics (motherboard), SSD, and screen all go obsolete at more or less the same rate. The fan and battery wear out.

So being able to swap out all this stuff individually wouldn't really help you that much. That being said, the SSD, battery, and fan are pretty easy to swap.

What I would like is a nice Macbook/MBA with modular "guts" where you can use it with dual core i7 and 8 gigs of RAM for three years with modular motherboard and RAM, swap out guts in three years to whatever is cutting edge...

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Laptops used to be like that. All components socketed, easily accessible behind individual access ports.

But they were 1.5" thick and weighed 15 pounds.

If you want a 1.8 lb computer that is 0.3" thick, nothing is socketed, everything soldered onto the motherboard, and glued together, and nothing is replaceable.

I like my desktops modular and replaceable. I like my laptops as solid glued lumps. My MBA is 3 years old and going strong. I will probably have to replace the SSD and battery next year (thank goodness those aren't glued in... but I am sure then next 0.050" shaved off of the 2015 MBA will be at the expense of those two replaceable components).

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